**Rose's POV**
I throw clothes into my bag without looking at what I'm grabbing.
Shirts. Pants. Underwear. Nothing matches. Nothing matters. I just need to get out of this apartment before Tony comes back.
He let me go at the coffee shop. Actually let me walk away after cornering me, after smiling that horrible smile and saying Maria should have kept her mouth shut. Dante arrived sixty seconds later, but Tony was already gone. Disappeared like smoke.
"He's playing with you," Dante said. His jaw was tight. Angry. "Letting you run so the fear builds. Then he'll strike."
Now I'm home packing, and every shadow makes me jump. Every sound could be Tony breaking in. Every second feels like my last.
My hands won't stop shaking. I drop a sweater twice before giving up and leaving it on the floor. What do you pack when you're running for your life? What matters when you might not live to see tomorrow?
Photos. I grab the small album from my nightstand. Pictures of my mom before she died. My brother Viktor as a kid, before gambling destroyed him. One wedding photo I couldn't throw away—me and Dante, his rare smile making him look almost human.
I shove the album in my bag and zip it closed.
My phone rings. I scream and drop it.
Get yourself together, Rose. You're falling apart.
I pick up the phone. Gentle's name flashes on the screen.
"Are you okay?" My best friend's voice is worried. "You texted that something happened but didn't explain."
"Maria's dead." The words taste like ash. "And the man who killed her found me today."
Gentle gasps. "Where are you? I'm coming to get you."
"No. Stay away. It's not safe." I look at my apartment door. The lock is flimsy. A child could break it. "I'm leaving. Going somewhere he can't find me."
"Where? Rose, you can't just run. You need protection. Call the police."
"The police can't stop the Giordano family." My voice cracks. "But maybe Dante can."
Silence on the other end. Then: "You called Dante? Rose, he's the reason you've been miserable for three years. He's—"
"Dangerous. I know. But right now I need dangerous." I grab my bag and head for the door. "I have to go. I'll call you when I'm safe."
"If you're safe," Gentle corrects quietly. "Be careful. I love you."
"Love you too."
I hang up and stare at my apartment. This tiny space has been my home for six months. My freedom. My fresh start. Now I'm leaving it behind, running back to the world I tried so hard to escape.
The marriage I just ended.
The man who broke my heart.
My hand reaches for the doorknob.
BANG!
The sound is so loud I think a bomb went off.
My door explodes inward. Wood splinters fly everywhere. The hinges scream and bend. The door hangs at a crazy angle, half attached, half destroyed.
Dante fills the doorway.
He's dressed in all black like he's going to war. A gun rests at his side, casual as a phone. His green eyes scan my apartment in two seconds, checking for threats, looking for danger.
Behind him stands another man. Tall, covered in tattoos, holding a gun like it's part of his body. He must be Luca, Dante's right-hand man I've heard about but never met.
"Thirty seconds," Dante says. His voice is cold. Empty. The voice he used during our last year together when he stopped seeing me as a person and started treating me like furniture. "Pack what matters."
My heart pounds so hard it hurts. "You broke my door!"
"You're welcome." Dante steps inside. "Clock's ticking. Twenty-five seconds."
"I already packed." I grab my bag from where I dropped it. "I was about to leave."
"To go where?" Luca asks. His voice is surprisingly gentle for a man holding a gun. "Hotels aren't safe. Friends' houses put them in danger. You got a better plan?"
I don't. I was going to figure it out as I ran. Maybe that's why I haven't left yet. Maybe some part of me was waiting for this. For Dante to kick down my door and take the choice away.
God, what does it say about me that I'm relieved he's here?
"I'm not going anywhere with you," I say, even though we both know it's a lie.
Dante's eyes flash. Dangerous. Predatory. The look he gets before he does something violent. "The Giordanos put a hit on you. Professional contract. Five men are coming for you tonight. So yes, wife, you are coming with me."
Wife. The word hits like a slap.
"I'm not your wife," I snap back. "We signed papers. It's over."
"Papers aren't filed until Monday." Dante moves closer. Each step makes my apartment feel smaller. "Until then, you're legally mine. And I protect what's mine."
"I stopped being yours when you stopped caring." The words burst out before I can stop them. Three years of pain in one sentence.
Something flickers across Dante's face. Regret? Guilt? It's gone too fast to tell.
"We don't have time for this." Luca checks his watch. "Giordano's men could be here any minute. We need to move."
As if summoning them, footsteps echo in the hallway outside. Heavy boots. Multiple sets.
Dante's hand moves to his gun. Luca positions himself by the broken door. They don't look scared. They look ready.
I'm the only one terrified.
"Bathroom," Dante orders. "Now."
"But—"
"Now, Rose!"
I run to the bathroom and crouch in the tub. My hands cover my ears but I can still hear everything.
The footsteps stop outside my apartment.
"Rose Santoro?" A voice calls. Rough. Mean. "We know you're in there. Come out and this goes easy."
Dante's laugh is cold. "She's not available. Try again never."
"Dante Corvino." The voice changes. Becomes cautious. "Didn't know the girl was yours."
"Now you do. Leave."
"Can't do that. We got orders. She dies tonight."
"Then you die first."
Silence. Thick and terrible. I hold my breath.
Then everything explodes into violence.
Gunshots. Shouting. Things breaking. I curl into a ball in the tub, making myself as small as possible. This is my fault. Maria died because of me. Now Dante and Luca are fighting because of me.
How many people have to get hurt before I stop being a coward?
I stand up. My legs shake but they hold me. I open the bathroom door.
The apartment is chaos. Three men are down, not moving. Dante and Luca fight two more. It's brutal and fast. Luca moves like a dancer, every motion efficient. Dante moves like a monster, every hit meant to destroy.
One of the Giordano men spots me. His eyes light up. He breaks away from Luca and charges toward me.
I freeze. All my self-defense training vanishes. I'm just a girl watching a killer run at her with a knife.
Dante appears between us like magic.
His fist connects with the man's face. Bone crunches. The man drops like someone cut his strings.
Dante spins toward me. Blood speckles his face. Not his blood—theirs. "I told you to stay in the bathroom."
"I couldn't just hide." My voice shakes.
"You could and you should." He grabs my arm, not gentle but not painful. "We're leaving. Now."
Luca is already at the door, checking the hallway. "Clear. But more are coming. I count three vehicles outside."
"Back exit," Dante decides. He pulls me toward the window.
"We're on the third floor!" I protest.
"Fire escape." Dante opens the window and climbs out first. Reaches back for me. "Trust me."
Trust him. The man who destroyed me. The man who's currently covered in blood. The man I just filed for divorce from.
More footsteps pound in the hallway. Voices shout orders. They're coming.
I take Dante's hand.
He pulls me through the window onto the metal fire escape. The night air is cold. Below us, the alley looks too far away. Above us, sirens wail. Someone called the police.
"Down," Dante orders. "Fast."
We climb down the ladder. My hands slip on the wet metal. Dante catches me before I fall, his arm around my waist, holding me steady.
We hit the ground. Luca is already there, gun out, scanning for threats.
A black car screeches around the corner. Dante shoves me behind him. Luca aims his gun.
The passenger window rolls down.
I brace for bullets.
Instead, I see a woman. Beautiful. Confident. Smiling like this is all very amusing.
"Dante Corvino," she purrs. "Fancy meeting you here."
Dante's whole body goes rigid. "Celeste."
"I heard you were having trouble with the Giordanos." Celeste's smile sharpens. "Lucky for you, I'm feeling generous. Get in. Unless you'd rather stay and explain to the police why there are five dead men in Rose's apartment?"
More sirens. Getting closer.
Dante looks at me. Then at Luca. Then at the woman in the car.
"We get in that car, we owe her," Luca warns.
"We stay, Rose dies," Dante counters.
Celeste's smile widens. "Clock's ticking, boys. What's it going to be?"
Dante opens the back door and pushes me inside. Follows me in. Luca jumps in front.
The car speeds away just as police lights flood the alley.
I'm squeezed between Dante and the door. His body heat burns through my jacket. His arm presses against mine. For three years I wanted him this close. Now I don't know whether to feel safe or terrified.
"Thank you for the rescue, Celeste," Dante says. His voice is carefully neutral.
Celeste laughs. "Oh, darling. This wasn't a rescue."
She turns to look at us. Her eyes gleam with something predatory.
"This was a recruitment. Welcome to the Marino family, Rose Santoro. You're going to help me destroy the Giordanos."
My blood turns to ice.
"And if you refuse?" Celeste's smile turns cruel. "I'll let Tony finish what he started."